The Department of Creative Studies in FCCS is again hosting a series of workshops offering prospective students and other members of the community a chance to find out more about the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) visual arts program at UBC Okanagan. The opportunity also prepares participants to start their application package to the BFA program.

Creative Days

This fall and winter, we have an exciting lineup of  hands-on workshops:

• Saturday Oct 21 | 10am-1pm – with Aleksandra Dulic – Music of Heavens Animation using stop-motion techniques.
• Saturday Nov 18 | 9am-11am – with Katherine Pickering – Life Drawing from the Model
• Saturday Jan 13 | 12pm-3pm – with Fern Helfand – Photography – Lighting for Studio Portraits
• Saturday Feb 17 | 12pm-2pm – with Myron Campbell – Frame-by-Frame Animation
• Saturday Mar 17 | 10am-1pm – with Renay Egami – Sculpture: Mold Making & Casting
• Saturday Apr 21 | 10am-12pm – with Stephen Foster – Interactive Digital Media

Portfolio Day

Instructor Katherine Pickering viewing a student portfolio

In addition to the workshops, our Visual Arts faculty and upper year’s students are hosting Portfolio Day on Saturday January 13th from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm.

Portfolio Day is an opportunity to get advice on building an entrance portfolio and (or) obtain pre-approval for the portfolio requirement as part of the application to the Visual Arts BFA program at UBC Okanagan.

In each portfolio, students are asked to include 15 – 20 artworks or images, and (or) up to 3 short videos, which illustrate their best work while showing the range of media they have explored.

Students are also welcome to bring your original artwork whenever possible, including finished pieces, works in progress, and sketchbooks. Students may also present your portfolio digitally on your laptop.

Creative Days workshops and Portfolio Day are held in the Creative and Critical studies building at UBC Okanagan, 1148 Research Road.

Please RSVP for Creative Days and Portfolio Day to briar.craig@ubc.ca

WHAT: A Different Lens, exhibition by Cool Arts
WHEN: September 23 to October 6
OPENING: September 23, 1-3 pm
WHERE: FINA Gallery, CCS building, UBC Okanagan Campus

Join us for an exciting exhibition being held September 23rd  to October 6th at the FINA Gallery, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies building at UBC Okanagan. An opening reception will be held Saturday, September 23rd from 1-3 p.m.

The exhibit will feature 27 large photographs taken by Cool Arts artist members in collaboration with artist photographer and BFA alumna, Kelsie Balehowsky. Works in this exhibition feature compositions captured while on two excursions throughout Kelowna’s Cultural District.

Cool Arts Society is a local non-profit organization that provides art opportunities for adults with diverse abilities. For more information about Cool Arts Society or to find out how you can get involved, call or write to Rena Warren, Artistic & Programming Director, Cool Arts Society. info@coolarts.ca or 250-899-6381.

Living Things and the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies presents Falling Awake by Ragmop Theatre.

WHAT: Falling Awake by Ragmop Theatre (Vancouver)
WHEN: September 28 to 30, 6:30 pm (matinee Sept 30 @ 2:30)
WHERE: Bumbershoot Theatre, #125, 1295 Canery Lane, Kelowna BC

Living Things, Kelowna’s International Art Festival announces its 2018 program with a presentation of Falling Awake by Ragmop Theatre from Vancouver.  Falling Awake is a surreal physical comedy about a women and her deceased lover meeting in their dreams.

Falling Awake is this year’s Fringe Festival hit, winning awards across the country. It was called a “mesmerizing display of physical comedy” in Toronto’s NOW magazine; “breathtaking” from Theatre in London; a “must-see” from Montreal Rampage; an “all-access pass into dreamland” from the Edmonton Journal and received 5 stars from the Winnipeg Free Press.

Tickets available online through bumbershoottheatre.com

• Adults: $20
• Students (with ID): $15
• Children (14 & under): $10

Come and find out what LIVING THINGS has in store for 2018.

For more information go to livingthingsfestival.com or ragmoptheatre.com

left to right: Shona Harrison, Myron Campbell, Denise Kenney, Michael Treschow

Each year the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies puts a call out for nominations for teaching excellence and innovation, community engagement and service awards. The faculty in FCCS are some of the best on the UBC Okanagan campus, therefore it is no surprise that we were flooded with a number of nominations for faculty in each category.

This year’s award recipients are Shona Harrison (English), Denise Kenney (Performance), Michael Treschow (English) and Myron Campbell (Visual Arts).

These awards present FCCS with yet another opportunity to express gratitude for the contributions that advance our mission and the objectives of our faculty, and to shine the spotlight on those contributions.

The 2017 Teaching Excellence Award recipient is Shona Harrison. Shona received this award on the basis of student support and teaching evaluations. Her student’s note that with her teaching style, she has fueled their passion for English, and is a wonderful leader and educator.

The 2017 Teaching Innovation Award recipients is Myron Campbell for his work in the Intro to Digital Media course he teaches (VISA 106). Myron has created a suite of video tutorials that students find to be both useful and motivating. One student notes, “Myron successfully matched his innovative teaching method with a dedication to ensuring that those materials that he provided his students with were well understood.”

Michael Treschow is the recipient of the 2017 Service Award for his contributions to the Faculty and to the wider UBC community over the past six years as a twice-elected member of the Board of Governors. Michael’s contribution on the BOG is remarkable; after being Chair of the Board of Governors’ People, Community and International Committee (2014-2017), he is now wrapping up three years as the Chair of the Board of Governors’ Learning and Research committee.

The 2017 Community Engagement Award recipient is Denise Kenney. For the past several years, Denise has been tireless in her work in the community, making connections for her program, the Faculty, and her students, as well as doing original and challenging research with and for the community. Her service, teaching and research have always contributed to the region’s various NGOs and public institutions, as well as to her professional community.

To learn more about the FCCS Awards and the nomination process, please visit fccs.ok.ubc.ca/research/awards.html

Installation by Cultural Studies students Kezia Elaschuk and Safeera Jaffer at the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum

For the second year, the Cultural Studies program at UBC’s Okanagan campus is offering a course that focusses on community engagement, where students have the opportunity to work in collaborative teams to complete projects that support the work of community partners.

This year professor David Jefferess has set up partnerships with Sncəwips Heritage Museum, the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society, the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum, the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art, and Lake Country’s Municipal Planning Office, Museum, and Public Art Commission.

In this course, students will be able to work on research projects in the areas of heritage and commemoration, community outreach and engagement, and education towards reconciliation, with topics that include colonial history and Indigenous resistance/resilience, the history of water “management” in the region, Japanese-Canadian Settlement, public and natural art, and artist communities.

Students enrolled in the course last year worked on some interesting and informative projects that demonstrate the skills they developed and the positive impacts they were able to make with their community partners.

Students Tessa Baatz, Chiara Mason and Emma McLeod presented an idea to the City of Kelowna that examines the positive impacts of parking spaces that are reclaimed for public recreational or beatification purposes. Read more about PARKLETS: Innovations in Urban Public Spaces.

Kezia Elaschuk and Safeera Jaffer researched the experiences of early Chinese and Japanese agricultural workers in the Okanagan and presented their finding in an exhibition at the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum. Read more about this project.

This course (CULT 499) is designed to provide students experiential learning based on the skills and knowledge of Cultural Studies scholarship. As such, students will complete a tangible research project that will be publicly disseminated, and they will acquire specific professional skills and experience suitable for inclusion in letters of application, resumes, and/or curriculum vitae.

In order to enroll in CULT 499 Community Engaged Research in term two this year, students are required to submit an application that includes a resume, description of related skills and experience as well as a letter of interest. The deadline for applications is September 22, 2017.

For more information, please contact the course instructor, David Jefferess. david.jefferess@ubc.ca.

Join artist Jaymie Johnson to create sculptural works evoking bumblebee nests to be installed on Kelowna’s Public Art Pollinator Pasture. Starting on Tuesday, August 29 at 6 PM and continuing for a series of short workshops over the week, you, family and friends can learn the ancient practices of making rope and coiled forms out of pine needles, nettles and grasses.

There are six free, drop-in events at the Pollinator Pasture at the Brent’s Grist Mill Heritage Park. Come and go as you please. Picnic dinners are encouraged. These outdoor events are open-air and weather dependent. If in doubt, call 778-840-8911. Bring sunhats, sunscreen, and water as required. This is family-friendly event.

The August 29th session is held in conjunction with a Parks Alive event, so music and displays from the Kelowna Museum society will be on site. The other events will have guest artists and artisans as well as musicians. You can also learn about the Border Free Bees research project that links art with wild bee conservation.

This project is inspired by Jaymie’s work with mentoring artist Sharon Kallis at the Richmond Pollinator Pasture in 2016. Jaymie is an interdisciplinary artist who uses a variety of media to explore the connection between art, ecology, and community. In 2016 she apprenticed with eco-artist Sharon Kallis in blackberry fibre use, cordage processing, and community engagement methods. Jaymie is from the West Kootenays and is currently based in Vancouver, BC.

In collaboration with the Border Free Bees research project and EartHand Gleaners Society, this event series is presented by the University of British Columbia Okanagan, in partnership with Emily Carr University of Art + Design, as well as the Kelowna Museum Society and Parks Alive at the City of Kelowna.

Everyone is welcome to attend the following free events. Be prepared for uneven ground and exposure to sun and heat. There is no water access or washroom on site. Please bring drinking water and appropriate sun protection. A shade tent will be provided.

Location: Brent’s Grist Mill Heritage Park, 2136 Leckie Pl, Kelowna, BC. For more information, contact Nancy Holmes at nancy.holmes@ubc.ca or Jaymie Johnson at beedeckingkelowna@gmail.com

Brent’s Grist Mill Events August 29 – September 4:

WorkBee 2 – Pine Needle: Coil
Tuesday, Aug 29 · 6:00–8:00pm
Learn to coil pine needles using stinging nettle fibre as thread.
Special displays and live music with Kelowna Museum Society and Parks Alive.

WorkBee 3 – Wild Grasses: Material Inquiry and Technique
Wednesday, Aug 30 · 6:00–8:00pm
Harvest, process, and learn about wild grasses.
Guest: Sharon Kallis

WorkBee 4 – Nettle: Harvest and Process
Thursday, Aug 31 · 6:00–8:00pm
Harvest, process, and create cordage out of stinging nettle.

WorkBee 5 – Weekend Intensive: Playful Discovery
Saturday, Sept 2 · 9:30am–12:30pm
Playfully create coiled bumblebee ‘pots’.
Guest: artist and natural sculptor Annabel Stanley

WorkBee 6 – Weekend Intensive: Playful Discovery
Sundday, Sept 3 · 9:30am–12:30pm
Playfully create coiled bumblebee ‘pots.’
Guest: singer/songwriter Leila Neverland

Final Celebration!
Monday, Sept 4 · 10:00am–12:30pm
Join us in celebrating the installation of this community project!
Local refreshments will be served.
Guest: singer/songwriter Maiya Robbie.

What: Wilden Ideas: 2017 Wilden Creativity Day
When: Sunday, August 13, 2017, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Where: Wilden Presentation Centre, 1454 Rocky Point Drive, Kelowna

Wilden is hosting the 2017 Wilden Creativity Day to celebrate wild ideas in art, music, food, and home design. Festivities will be held in their brand new Presentation Centre at 1454 Rocky Point Drive. This is a complimentary event to support young artists and the cultural life in Kelowna.

The Blenk family have been hosting the Wilden Creativity Day since 2015, when Wilden first announced the Wilden Creativity Award, given to a graduating student—Bachelor of Fine Arts or Master of Fine Arts—in UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) Visual Arts program, and includes $2,500 and an exhibition at the Wilden Presentation Centre.

“The Wilden Creativity Award is our top prize for a graduating student. Preference is given to a body of work that reflects a powerful message as well as a high level of originality, passion and accomplishment.” Says Myron Campbell, visual arts instructor in FCCS.

This year’ award recipient was Rho Shaw, and nominees Pamela Turner and Jackie Deck, each artist will be exhibiting their work at the 2017 Creative Day. Click here to find out more about the artists and their work.

Farm Workers in Western Canada: Injustices and Activism is a new book that was edited by FCCS professor Shirley McDonald and Bob Bametson. The book is an in-depth look at social, political and economic conditions affecting farm works’ struggles for their rights. The book has received many accolades, including being shortlisted for the 2017 Alberta Book Publishing Awards in the Scholarly and Academic category. The winners will be announced announced at a gala reception at the Delta South in Edmonton on September 15, 2017.

In “Exposing the injustices that lie beneath the Canadian dinner table,” a book review in The Vancouver Sun, Tom Sandborn had this to say about Farm Workers in Western Canada: Injustices and Activism:

“The collection of essays gathered by Shirley A. McDonald of University of B.C. Okanagan and Athabasca University’s Bob Barnetson for this book illustrate that many of the deaths and injuries that occur on Canadian farms and in our meat packing plants could be avoided if the workers had a strong union or if safety regulations and inspections in the industry were improved.” Read more…

Farm Works in Western Canada book cover

To honour the many faceless and invisible farm workers, Dr. David Swann (MLA Liberal), book contributor Jennifer Koshan (Calgary), and editor Shirley McDonald, will host the annual Farmworkers’ Day in the Faculty of Law (Murray Fraser Hall) at the University of Calgary. There will be a moment of silence for farm workers, who have lost their lives in the performance of their jobs in farming, one of the most dangerous occupations in Canada.

The event will also honour former farm workers now- turned-activists, Eric Musekamp and Darlene Dunlop, whose 15 years of lobbying encouraged the Alberta government to pass Bill 6: The Enhanced Protection of Farm and Ranch Workers Act. The event will host a gathering and contributors to Farm Workers in Western Canada: Injustices and Activism, who will talk briefly about the focus of their respective chapters in the book.

Several labour leaders and members of the media will be on hand to join in a luncheon and book launch on August 21 in University of Calgary’s Law Faculty between 1 and 4 PM.

Shirley A. McDonald teaches at UBC Okanagan. Her research interests combine literature, Canadian history, and life writing. Bob Barnetson is a professor of labour relations at Athabasca University. His research centres on the political economy of employment regulations.